Friday, August 20, 1999
Law targets Hanson as One Nation axed
By GREG ROBERTS
One Nation has been struck off Queensland's political register, leaving
its five State MPs without a party and its embattled leadership troika
seeking urgent legal advice as investigations into possible criminal
charges began.
One Nation was deregistered after the party lost its second legal battle
in two days when Justice Roslyn Atkinson in the Supreme Court refused
its application to stay her decision that the party's registration was
"induced by fraud or misrepresentation".
The party's national director, Mr David Ettridge, said One Nation would
appeal. It submitted an application for reregistration late yesterday.
The Queensland Electoral Commission is seeking legal advice about
whether Mr Ettridge and fellow party leaders Ms Pauline Hanson and Mr
David Oldfield should be prosecuted.
The commission's deputy commissioner, Ms Trudy Aurisch, said the outcome
of investigations into their conduct would not be known for at least a week.
Ms Aurisch said it would be at least a month before One Nation could be
reregistered, and moves would proceed to recover $502,000 in electoral
funding paid to One Nation.
The party's Queensland Leader, Mr Bill Feldman, said the money had been
spent. If the court orders costs against One Nation, its total outlay
could approach $1 million. More than $4 million in Federal and NSW State
funding may also be reviewed.
Justice Atkinson found One Nation was "completely controlled" by the
leadership troika, who knew the party did not have the 500 members whose
names were submitted in its registration application.
One Nation's former Victorian convener, Mr Andrew Carne, compiled the
"membership" lists from which the names were submitted.
Mr Carne said that when supporters who considered themselves party
members contacted One Nation to complain that they were in fact members
of Pauline Hanson's One Nation Members Inc, they were expelled.
Mr Carne said when he expressed reservations to Mr Ettridge, he was
told: "If people don't ask questions, you don't have to tell lies."
Mr Ettridge dismissed the allegations as nonsense. "Andrew Carne is
unreliable from a number of points of view, including his memory," he said.
Mr Ettridge said he was confident the appeal would succeed. On legal
advice, One Nation had not fully defended itself against the action
brought by a former party candidate, Mr Terry Sharples.
"The court heard only one side of the case," Mr Ettridge said. Witnesses
in the case were "people with an axe to grind who brought their crusade
into court".
Mr Ettridge said he was not concerned about the investigation. "I have
done nothing wrong. Neither has Pauline Hanson or David Oldfield."
Mr Carne said the "dodgy" membership database used for Queensland's
registration was the same as that used in other States.
One Nation appears to be secure in Victoria because a party can be
registered if it has a Federal MP, as Ms Hanson was at the time.
In NSW, however, requirements are similar to Queensland's, with the
names of 200 members having to be submitted.
--
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